What we know about Lyra

Lyra is a prominent northern sky constellation, ranking 52nd in magnitude. What is interesting about the constellation Lyra? What mysteries does it hold? How did it get its name?

This constellation's Latin name is "Lyra." It is a minor constellation, yet it has been known since ancient times. We should be able to find it easily if we know where to look in the sky. This constellation has several intriguing objects, particularly Vega, the brightest star in the sky. It is also the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the summer sky.

Where is the constellation of Lyra in the sky?

Although it is small, it is quite easy to find it on the sky if you know where it is located. Its brightest star, Vega, also helps in locating it. Close to it are five fainter stars, arranged in a parallelogram. Together they form a constellation.

The stars form something like the frame of an instrument — a harp. This is a musical instrument popular in ancient times and in the early modern period. Interestingly, it originated in the Middle East, where it occupied an important place — it is even mentioned in “The Tale of the Thousand and One Nights”. In fact, however, as evidenced by its Latin name, the constellation represents not so much a harp as a lyre. It is a stringed instrument from the group of chordophones, which originated in ancient Greece.

The constellation Lyra (or Harp) can be found at the edge of the Milky Way. The Cygnus (Swan) constellation and the Hercules constellation may be helpful in finding it. Lyre is located between the two. The constellation of the Draco (Dragon) and the constellation of the Vulpecula (Fox) are also adjacent to this constellation. A line through the other constellations of the northern sky, the Ursa Major and the Draco, will lead us to the constellation of Lyra. If we lead the line through the front circles of the Ursa Major, extending it through the constellation Draco, we will come across Lyra.

We can also look for the so called “Summer Triangle” in the sky, formed, among others, by the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra — Vega. The other two stars that form the Summer Triangle with it are Deneb and Altair.

Characteristics of the constellation Lyra

The constellation Lyra is a typical constellation of our summer sky. It is located at the edge of the Milky Way and, although small, is quite visible. The brightest star in this constellation is Vega. It is the fifth brightest star in the night sky. It is 25 light years away from Earth, so it is quite close. The name of the star comes from Arabic, in which it means “soaring eagle”. The Greeks called the star “Lyra” — just like the whole constellation.

Vega can be seen with the naked eye from the entire northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere it is visible up to 51° S latitude. Together with two other stars it forms the so-called “Summer Triangle”. This asterism consists of Deneb (in the Swan constellation), Altair (in the Eagle constellation) and Vega. In the northern hemisphere, the summer triangle can be observed until late autumn.

With the unaided eye, we can see about 45 stars in the constellation of Lyra. We find there mainly the stars Gamma, Beta, Delta and Zeta Lyrae. They form a characteristic quadrilateral that makes up the outline of the constellation. Gamma Lyrae is about 620 light years from the Sun. Its other name is “Sulafat,” which means “turtle” in Arabic. Beta Lyrae is an eclipsing variable star, also known as “Sheliak”. It is worth knowing that it is also the Arabic name of the entire constellation. Delta Lyrae is an optical star pair consisting of an M-type red star (Delta-2) and a fainter white star (Delta-1). Quite famous is the fourth star that forms the parallelogram of this constellation. Epsilon Lyrae is a double double star, or quadruple star. It is sometimes just called a “Double Double”.

In the constellation of Lyra we can find many interesting objects. The Ring Nebula is extremely well known and interesting. It is one of the most famous planetary nebulae. It was discovered in January 1779, although the question of its discoverer is disputable. The French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix is considered to be its discoverer, although there are many indications that its real discoverer is Charles Messier. He was the first astronomer to create a systematic catalog of nebular objects and star clusters. The Ring Nebula is thus also known as Messier 57 or simply M57. The nebula can be found in the sky between the beta and gamma Lyrae stars.

The Lyrids are also worth mentioning. This is a swarm of meteors whose radiant is located on the border of the constellations of Lyra and Hercules. The meteors are associated with Thatcher’s comet, and are active between April 16 and 25, with the peak of their activity occurring around April 21–22. It should be added that the Lyrids are the first swarm mentioned in ancient chronicles. There are also so-called June Lyrids, but their activity is rather weak. It is a meteor swarm active from June 11 to 21, with the maximum on June 16.

The origin of the constellation Lyra

The constellation of Lyra represents this musical instrument — specifically, a lyre. It is an instrument that belonged to the most famous singer known to the myths, Orpheus. He was a Thracian singer and poet who, according to mythology, was the son of Apollo or the Thracian god Ojagros and the muse Kaliiope (the muse of epic poetry). His singing and music affected people in extraordinary ways. Apparently, its amazing effects did not only affect people — the waves became quieter, trees leaned towards him, and wild beasts mellowed at his side.

Mythology and meaning

The lyre is said to have been created by the god Hermes. It was prepared from the shell of a turtle. Orpheus, the Thracian singer and poet, received such a lyre as a gift from his father, Apollo. Orpheus’ music and singing had an extraordinary effect on people and the world around him.

His most famous myth tells of his attempt to win back his wife, Eurydice, who was bitten by a viper. The woman died and Orpheus decided to go to the underworld to save her. His music enchanted even the guards of Hades. The god of the underworld himself agreed that the singer should take his wife with him, returning to the world of the living. The only condition was that Orpheus should not look back on his journey.

Unfortunately, when they were at the end of their journey, the singer saw the sunlight and was so overjoyed that they were near that he turned for joy to his wife to share his happiness with her. He did it too early — Eurydice was therefore taken back to Hades. He, in turn, was forbidden to see her as long as he lived. He was forbidden to enter the underworld. So he wandered around the world, playing and singing.

Orpheus is known as a participant in the expedition of the Argonauts. Due to the amazing qualities of his playing and singing (even the stones jumped in dance when hearing the sound of his strings), he came in very handy during this expedition. He calmed the stormy sea, as well as saved the participants of the expedition from the Sirens.

After the death of his wife, Orpheus was distraught and decided not to bind himself to any woman again. So his body was torn to shreds by the indignant Menades, companions of the god Dionysus. They did this when Orpheus refused to participate in the Bacchanalia. According to one version of the myth, this was the cause of his death — he did not take part in the Dionysian mysteries, because he worshipped the god Apollo more. The body of Orpheus, torn apart by the Bacchantes, did not stop singing even after death. The remains were thrown into the river — his head and lyre swam with the current all the way to the island of Lesbos. Here we come to the end of the story — Orpheus’ lyre was placed by Zeus among the stars. This happened at the request of the Muses and Apollo. According to the myth, this is how the constellation of Lyre was created.